


Bubbles

by electricghoti



Series: Ashkaari Side Works [3]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Catching your parents doing it, Earned a nickname, Embarrassment, Gen, Mages, Magic Revealed, Memories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-29
Updated: 2016-06-29
Packaged: 2018-07-19 01:59:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7339978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/electricghoti/pseuds/electricghoti
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Very short. Ashkaari tells Varric about one of the most embarrassing events she can remember. Made even worse because it's also when her ability to perform magic revealed itself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bubbles

“Come on, you have to tell me. It’s for character development!”

“No way, Varric. My character doesn’t need development. I’m already developed and it’s far too embarrassing.”  
“Every hero has an origin story. Every legend has a beginning that started it all. You’re a mage and the Herald of Andraste. If people are going to read your story, you need to give them something they can relate to. Mages will want to know that even with a humble beginning, a person can rise to hold the world together.”

“I don’t know, Varric. It’s not that interesting. I didn’t set fire to anything, I didn’t freeze someone’s goat, and I didn’t slit my wrists while dancing naked under a full moon. It wasn’t really weird when my magic manifested, it was just embarrassing.”

“Even better, Ash. You didn’t start with fear or purpose. This magic thing happened on accident the way a person would discover it - not a larger than life ideal. You’re saving the world for other people. If I write this book, then you’ll be showing anyone who reads it that the Inquisitor isn’t a scary qunari mage with lightning for horns. She’s just a _person_ who makes mistakes just like the rest of us.”

Ashkaari was quiet for several long seconds while she considered the proposal. Varric had a habit of embellishing, but he wasn’t malicious. She’d read his Tale of the Champion. Better Varric than some chronicler who would pretend she was perfect and human. “I’ll give you the short version. Please don’t tell anyone before this book is written, or I swear I will tie you up and drag you to the Hinterlands to fight bears in your night clothes.”

“I swear under pain of bear wrestling without Cassandra to punch it for me: I won’t tell a soul.” Varric nodded enthusiastically, arranging the blank papers in front of him in preparation to write.

“...All right. When I was a kid - about ten - I was getting ready for bed when I noticed my parents were gone. We, the Valo-Kas, were camped out for the night near a river on the way to whatever city we were headed to. I asked one of the adults if they knew where my parents had gone and she gave me this strange look and said, “they’ve gone to take a bath.” I suppose I should have asked what she meant, but not all children care about the subtleties of expression.”

“You should give credit to your younger self for an appropriate amount of apathy. “...And then I went to bed” doesn’t make for much of a story.”

“I’m not nearly as glad.” She responded, grimacing at the mental image evoked while she spoke. “You didn’t wander off to the river to try and surprise your parents. I just wanted to jump in and pretend to be a cannonball. What I got instead was discovering my father “cannoning” into my mother, and then getting a boot thrown at me because they thought I was someone else. I was so startled I didn’t even move when I saw the boot come flying at me. I stood there and watched it bounce off this murky blue wall that flared up just before it hit me.”

“I bet that got their attention…” Varric muttered mostly to himself, a hand pressed over his mouth to suppress the laughter which threatened to break free  
.  
“You have no idea.” Ashkaari sighed, covering her face with her hands to hide the heat of the blush spreading over her cheeks. “When they heard the boot bounce back, they both looked up and I turned on my heel and left. I nearly bowled over Shokrakar while I was running back because I still had that barrier up. It dissipated when I fell backwards. I’m sure she was startled and had no idea what was going on, but she just put a hand on my shoulder and asked what the bubble was for. About the only thing I could say through the embarrassment was that my parents were not taking a bath. Let’s just say that it took some time for me to calm down and for my parents to get over the shock of having a mage child. At least my father was happy about it later.”

“That’s perfect.” Varric chuckled, scribbling the last of his notes on the paper in front of him. “Not interrupting your parents. That’s horrifying. I’d have hated to catch my mother hugging the nug when I was a kid.” He shuddered, briefly shaking his head to clear the image before it solidified in his mind. 

“The story is perfect. Embarrassment, shock, compassion. I don’t think this is going in the book, but thanks for the tale...Bubbles.” He gave Ashkaari a wink and a wide, cheeky grin before dashing off toward the tavern door and leaving her speechless in the dust.

All she could do was groan and drop her forehead to the table with a quiet thunk. _Bubbles_.


End file.
